1. Field of the Invention
This application relates generally to a decontamination method and apparatus and, more specifically, to an apparatus and method for emitting ultraviolet light onto surfaces of in an unoccupied room.
2. Description of Related Art
Surfaces in rooms at healthcare facilities are commonly exposed to infectious organisms and other biologically-active contaminants (hereinafter generally referred to as “contaminants”) spread by the patients who occupy those rooms. These contaminants can remain viable on the contaminated surfaces to reproduce and infect others such as subsequent patients and/or visitors, for example, who enter the room and make contact with those surfaces. In an effort to prevent the spread of infections, healthcare facilities must conduct decontamination procedures in the rooms as frequently as possible.
One example of a room where contaminants are most prevalent is the bathroom located in inpatient hospital rooms. Surfaces in such bathrooms frequently come into direct contact with patients and their bodily fluids, resulting in an increased likelihood that contaminants will be present on the surfaces in bathrooms. Accordingly, the bathroom in inpatient hospital rooms should be decontaminated frequently to avoid a buildup of contaminants and minimize the risk of spreading an infection from one patient to another patient subsequently admitted to an inpatient hospital room or even a visitor or hospital personnel. However, manually decontaminating such bathrooms is labor intensive, requiring personnel to adhere to strict guidelines governing the use of liquid disinfectants. Such procedures also render the bathroom unavailable for one or more patients admitted to the corresponding inpatient hospital room for a prolonged period of time, which makes them impractical to conduct during the day when patients are most likely to use the bathroom. And conducting such decontamination procedures at night may disrupt patients, causing them to lose sleep that they may need to recover.